


Shane McCutcheon's fierce loyalty is her best trait, in this meta I will…

by GlassesOfJustice



Category: The L Word: Generation Q (TV)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25211464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassesOfJustice/pseuds/GlassesOfJustice
Summary: A character study of Shane McCutcheon.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Unconventional Fanwork Exchange 2020





	Shane McCutcheon's fierce loyalty is her best trait, in this meta I will…

**Author's Note:**

  * For [facethestrange](https://archiveofourown.org/users/facethestrange/gifts).



How is it (one might ask), that when we drop in on our L Word regulars Alice, Bette, and Shane 15 years later, Shane is the one that has her priorities sorted out? Don't get me wrong, she's in the middle of a divorce, and at first glance, you might not think that indicates she has her life together. On the contrary, her divorce is a product of a decision that can only be arrived at by someone who truly knows what they want, and Shane is willing to sacrifice love in order to stay true to herself.

In my view, Shane being true to herself means continuing to prioritize herself, continuing to be loyal to the people who have been there for her in her life and to her own values. We see that on screen as distinctly in 2020 and we did in 2005. 

**Then**  
Shane was a bit of a misfit, a lone wolf, never really able to settle down. From the first season when we see her sleeping her way through LA, to leaving Carmen at the altar, her actions begged the question: can she commit to a relationship? When people ask this question, what they really mean is can she hold down a romantic relationship because we see from the very beginning her bond with Bette and in a different but still important way, to Alice. She is a constant in their lives, and their relationships are filled with non-sexual intimacy and are incredibly strong. She is loyal to her friends, her found family, and to herself.

**Now**  
When Shane enters the scene in the first episode, she's been absent from LA for a while. It's unclear how long but long enough to have built and sold a massive salon empire in Europe. The audience doesn't yet know that she's in the middle of a divorce, but she sleeps with the flight attendant on the private plane she chartered from Paris so we know then that she's the same Shane we knew and loved. The thing is, Shane never promises any of her many lovers anything. It is not her fault if people want more from her than she is willing to give them. 

**Quiara + The Divorce**  
Getting a divorce doesn't mean you don't love someone, and the fact that Quiara and Shane _still_ love each other is abundantly clear. In this case, they love each other enough to know they can't build a future together. Quiara wants to have a baby, start a family, and Shane is not interested in that. She tells Bette she doesn't want to raise a kid while Quiara is on tour. Shane knows what she wants, and it seems like Quiara wasn't willing to listen. Quiara is very wrong about one thing. After Quiara has a miscarriage, her and Shane have this exchange:

>   
> Quiara: Then why did you agree to do this [have the baby with me]?  
> Shane: Because I love you. And I agreed to do this so I could be with you.  
> Quiara: Do you want to be with me now?  
> Shane: Yeah.  
> Quiara: So you’re saying you would like to try again, too?  
> Shane: I’m-I’m saying...that, uh…I want to be realistic and to...and to plan.  
> Quiara: That’s-That’s what I thought.   
> Shane: What?   
> Quiara: You’re never going to change, Shane.   
> Shane: Wait, w-w-w-wait. Hold on I’m sorry...what is?  
> Quiara: No one is ever going to love you because you’re incapable of loving anyone but your fucking self. 

  
After this, Quiara throws her wedding ring at Shane, and Shane breaks down. What Quiara says to Shane: that she is incapable of loving anyone but herself, I think is fundamentally untrue. But I get the feeling that Shane has, throughout her life, felt unworthy of being loved. In this case, just because she and Quiara don't agree on how they want to live their lives in the future, doesn't mean she doesn't love her. Clearly, she let herself be talked into participating in raising a child she didn't want just because she loved Quiara that much. But, at some point, Shane decided romantic love wasn't enough. She chooses loyalty to herself and her found family over creating a new family with Quiara.

Childless in modern American society  
2020 Shane is a beacon of hope for the modern queer who wishes to remain childless. There is so little media focused on single women who make a conscious choice to remain childless. The only other cases I'm aware of are Dr. Christina Yang on _Grey's Anatomy_ and a recent storyline which is still unfolding on season four of _The Bold Type_. So often, women are reduced to their ability to produce offspring, and if you somehow do not want to participate in that biological process, you're an outcast. Being childless and sticking to her position becomes increasingly difficult when Quiara shows up in LA saying she's pregnant and she doesn't need Shane to be a part of the baby's life, but she still loves her and _wants_ Shane to be in her life, in their life. 

Uncle Shane  
Shane remains reticent to Quiara's idea of a happy family, one where they somehow have a relationship, but Shane isn't really involved with Quiara's baby. When Shane is supporting Bette in her moment of need, the thing she shows up for is taking Angie for her drivers test. Uncle Shane gets the chance to shine. We never get much more backstory to why Angie calls her Uncle Shane, and Shane has always been androgynous. So I like to believe it stems from the early days, when Bette and Tina were raising Angie, and Shane was the more masculine of the three. But back to the driving test. Turns out Angie needs more than a lift to the DMV, she needs advice about her crush on her best friend Jordi. After Shane and Quiara push Angelica to go for what she wants, Shane is swept up in the moment, in the positive feelings of making an impact on a young person, and she agrees to have the kid with Quiara.

Quiara's Baby  
Shortly after Shane agrees to try to be a family, there is a really awkward doctor visit where Shane parrots Bette’s remark about Angie’s heartbeat to Quiara because she's struggling with not feeling anything toward the baby. When she finally tells Quiara this, Quiara waves it away as a concern. She tells Shane she'll feel what she's supposed to in due time, instead of really considering her reticence and second thoughts.

Ultimately, Quiara has a miscarriage, and Shane feels nothing but relief. Shane, never really wanted a child and, in fact, signed divorce papers over not wanting to raise a family with Quiara. After the miscairrage, Shane thinks they can take a beat, reassess, but Quiara says she plans to get pregnant again. This leads to them separating again, despite Shane's best efforts to both be upfront and honest about her feelings and to be loyal to her marriage.

**Found Family**  
We know very little about Shane's past, who her parents are, what her childhood was like. We do know her friends are the most important people in her life. The people she turns to again and again in crisis and in celebration are her friends. When her life turns upside down in Europe, she returns home, to LA, and to the people she knows she an rely on to be there for her and support her in whatever her decisions are.

Dana’s  
Early on in the season Shane buys the Atlas and turns it into a gay bar. In a truly honorific move, she names the bar Dana’s in honor of her dear friend who passed away. Dana's represents both her holding onto the past, to the people that mean the most to her and also to building space for her community, for giving back to the next generation of queer women in LA that need a gay bar of their own.

The other big component of Dana's is Tess, the bartender and operator. Shane supports her dream of having a gay space by buying the bar and letting her vision for it come to life. Shane also supports Tess through her alcohol issues. Yes, Shane slept with Lena, but Lena implied she and Tess were not together, and Shane and Tess were able to move forward despite both of them making mistakes. They are walking this fine line between fiend and employer/employee. Tess is able to give Shane some much needed advice about communicating in her relationship, and in turn Shane provides Tess stability when everything else is falling apart in her life.

Bette & Alice  
Shane treats her friends as she wants to be treated. She never passes judgement and only asks for the same in return. Everyone should be more like Shane. It's clear the trio are still the best of friends, despite Shane's absence from LA. We see them enjoying breakfast like old times at The Planet and you can tell they've either been keeping in touch regularly, or picked up right where they left off as only certain friendships are capable of doing. You can tell their relationship is one with history. In the original series pilot there is a scene where Bette/Tina are sitting on Bette's front steps, Shane still in her clothes from the night before. They have the type of relationship where Shane’s one night stand doesn’t need to be named, and Shane can tell them both she knows they just had sex and are being post-coital cuddly without it crossing any kind of line. As Shane is walking away, Bette says, “You be good.” And Shane replies: “I’m going to try.” And this is the essence of Shane. Despite what anyone might think about her, she always tries to do good. 

In a similar display of familiarity and non-verbal communication coupled with calling out your friends on their shit, Bette and Tina and Shane are sitting at Dana’s, Shane prodding Better about her reaction to her ex-wife’s dinner invitation. They just have this friendship that transcends any boundary lines. Even more intimate in episode 4, _LA Times_ , Bette comes over to cook for Shane’s birthday. She says to her, “Did you ever think you’d be spending your 40th birthday will a middle aged lesbian with no chance of having sex?” And that’s just how their relationship is, brimming with non-sexual intimacy. Later in the scene, Shane confesses she slept with Lena, and Bette reassures her that it's natural to fuck up and do the wrong thing when you’re trying to move on but don’t know how. She knows this because she has personal experience with this particular variety of mistake. Bette and Shane move to Shane's kitchen floor, Bette spilling her heart to Shane, the only person in her life she can truly rely on not to judge her. They reminisce about Kit, and are there for each other in a way only they know how to be. Tina comes up casually in conversation because she sent Shane flowers for her birthday, and Shane makes a passing comment that affirms to Bette that she is still her number one. It's just what they do.

They both love Alice (everyone loves Alice, right?), but she has a short fuze and she lacks the quietness Shane can provide. Alice's loyalty seems conditional in some ways. Bette tells Alice she didn’t tell her about Felicity because she was afraid she would judge her; that is never a thought when it comes to Shane. When Bette and Alice eventually make up, Bette looks over Alice’s shoulder, and Shane smiles and gives her that knowing look, “I told you that you just had to give her time.” Shane is the glue that keeps them together. Switzerland. The neutral party that knows how to listen, that can be friends to both Better and Alice when they don't know how to be friends to each other. She is the rock.

Finley  
Shane meets Finley as an employee of Alice's show in the context of her assembling some furniture as a favor to Alice. Shane sees a bit of her old self in Finley and doesn't hesitate to take her in and let her crash at her newly purchased luxury home. Shane has always been generous with her resources and this is just one crucial example of how she's subtly giving back. Shane becomes a bit of a role model to Finley; they aren't that close, but Finley needs someone stable in her life, and Shane needs someone who is still figuring herself out to really understand how far she's grown and all she's accomplished. I wish the show would have explored the similarities and differences of these two more; clearly Finley has some familial issues she was trying to work out, and I suspect Shane might have been in that same place at one point. Finley shows up for Sophie in a lot of the same ways Shane shows up for her friends, and it's nice to see friendships continued to be prioritized. 

Angie  
Uncle Shane is an honorific name; one Shane wears with pride. Shane treats her relationship with Angie as a contained unit. She supports her in a way you might think typical of a relative, by attending her school play and taking her to the DMV when her mom is unable. But, she also respects the insular nature of their relationship. It exists separate from and outside her relationship with Bette. Before Shane's birthday when she and Better are smoking pot, Bette says compulsively, "Don't tell Angie" - but of course she never would. She doesn't betray Angie's confidence about Jordi to Bette the same way she doesn't betray Bette's confidence about Felicity to Alice. Shane is the most present person, an active listener and remains protective and true to her friendships, no matter what the dynamic is. She finds a way to be true to each of them, despite holding many truths at once.

**Loyalty Wins**  
In conclusion, Shane is the most loyal character on this show. Loyalty is defined as the strong feeling of support or allegiance. Shane has it in spades. She listens to the people in her life and supports them without judgement. She doesn't offer more than she can give. And, she is true to herself, always honoring her own needs. Contrary to Quiara's hurtful words, she can and does love the people in her life because she's learned to love herself. I wish we had more people like Shane gracing our Television screens.


End file.
